Illian Moonshine
by A very odd fellow
Summary: Florina had forgotten to fill her water flask the night before, and Lyn needed her for some scouting work before the battle. Farina's flask was full. What's the worst that could happen?


Okay, a fic idea struck me at 11:57 PM a couple of weeks ago, and I was finished with it (with the exception of a few small changes) at a quarter after two. I don't think I planned it, but it turned out to be the Florina fic to complete Nightmare3's set (along with FE saddle rash and Scoundrel's Luck). Anyone that knows me knows that it's pretty amazing for me to get most of a chapter done in just over two hours, so read on and tell me what you think.

Original Posting: April 3, 2006

Edited to fix formatting: March 18, 2013

* * *

Illian Moonshine

Florina wiped her brow; this battle had been more trying than normal. She had been hitting her water cask pretty hard, but it was strange: the more she drank, the thirstier it made her. Taking one last swig, she closed it off and returned to the skies.

* * *

"Sister!" Farina stormed into her older sister's tent. "Give it back!"

"I don't have the faintest clue what you're screaming about." Fiora replied coolly, not even looking up at her hot-headed sister.

"Who else would take it? No one else pries into my stuff when I'm not around!" Farina exclaimed, going through Farina's chest.

"Oh, that reminds me." Fiora firmly halted Farina's search of her possessions, guiding her toward the door, "Florina told me to tell you she borrowed a flask of water from you this morning. Apparently, she was needed for some pre-battle scouting and didn't have time to fill her own."

Farina stopped her struggle immediately, just before breaking out in hysterical laughter.

Fiora stared at her sister. 'I knew she was crazy, but this is something else…" She thought.

"Well, this should be an interesting evening." Farina said, turning to leave.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fiora asked, suspicious of anything that could change her sister's attitude so quickly.

"You'll see." Farina sang as she left.

* * *

"Why, hello handsome." The Pegasus knight walked towards the cavalier, albeit a tad unsteadily.

Sain checked behind him, then looked to each side; there was no one else around.

"Silly, I'm talking to you." The lavender-haired young woman stopped, being closer to Sain than he could ever remember seeing her with any man, save that one instance with Hector…good thing he had his armor to shield him from that Pegasus. "So, what brings you here?"

"I was looking for Lyn." Sain replied mechanically, still unsure what to think of this situation.

"Well, she's not here right now, but you're welcome to wait here with me." Florina said giddily, grabbing his hand and skipping over to the bed and sitting down, "It's much more comfy to sit than stand, don't you agree?"

"Um, sure." Sain agreed, allowing himself to be pulled down next to her, "Are you feeling alright?" He asked slowly.

"I'm feeling just peachy! Although…I am thirsty. See, my water ran out." Florina shoved the flask towards Sain's face.

Sain took a whiff of the flask. Whatever its contents had been, it was definitely not water. 'If she drained this, she has no clue what she's doing…and I doubt she'll remember anything either. This is just too good to pass up.' Sain thought. "I think I have some water in my tent." He said, standing up.

"Really? But don't you have to speak with Lyn?" Florina reminded him.

"Oh, it's not urgent." Sain replied, leading her out of the tent and quickly walking to his own. "Here you go." He said, offering her his own water flask.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Florina threw her arms around the cavalier.

"It would be unbecoming of a knight to let a fair damsel go through the day without offering her some water to relieve her parched soul." Sain answered, returning her embrace.

Florina giggled, "Why do you talk like that?" She asked, taking a drink.

Sain looked hurt for a second, but the smile returned to his face before anyone would have realized it was gone, "Because it's fun; you should try it."

"Ok." Florina replied, "It's so hot in here, and a damsel deserves all the comfort available." She said, removing her armor and boots.

'Not what I was expecting, although quite the welcome surprise.' Sain thought, staring at Florina, who was left in only her uniform, her legs bare all the way to the tip of her oh-so-short skirt. "So it is." He agreed, taking off his own armor, "That's much better; so much less restriction." He said, stretching his arms and legs.

"Yep, it's always nice to get out of armor after a long battle." Florina said, falling back onto the bed, "Your bed feels softer than mine." She noted.

"Well, I suppose I can tell you my secret." Sain leaned down, putting his mouth next to her ear, "Lowen and Rebecca let me keep the down in return for plucking the birds when Rebecca bags some for meals." He whispered.

"That's smart; I wish I had thought of that." Florina said wistfully.

"Well, you're welcome to use my bed whenever you want."

"Oh, but where would you sleep? I couldn't take your bed from you." Florina told him.

"I never said anything about you taking my bed." Sain replied with a grin. "You're small; I'm sure we could both fit on without any problems at all."

"I don't think I could possibly go to sleep right now; I'm far too wired. What else could we do?"

"Well, there is one thing…"

* * *

Sain stared at the girl in astonishment, 'I've never known anyone to change so thoroughly from the effects of alcohol.' He thought, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. 'She really is beautiful; it's a shame this is a one-time event. Oh well, all good things must come to a close.' Sain carefully slipped one of his spare shirts over her small frame. 'Now how to get her back to her own tent without being noticed…' Sain pondered this for a moment, until his eyes came to rest on his cloak. 'It looks like her size will come in handy.' He smiled, 'Now, I have to work this right, or else it will be just as suspicious as walking through camp with her in the open.' Sain gently parted Florina's arms and wrapped them around his neck. As expected, she settled into a grip, allowing him to carry her with minimal difference in appearance. He walked to her tent, deposited her lightly on her bed, and returned to his own tent without any trouble.

* * *

"Florina, wait up for a second!" Sain called to the timid Pegasus knight.

"Y-yes, Sir Sain?" Florina replied, taking a small step back.

"No need for the Sir; I like it when you call me Sain better." Sain said with a grin, "Just out of curiosity, do you remember anything from last night?"

Florina looked at him strangely; what kind of a question was…that? "...um..., actually, n-now that you m-mention it, I-I can't remember anything after the ...um... b-battle."

Sain sighed, he had been holding out a slight hope that she would retain a memory of the night. Well, it wasn't anything he hadn't been expecting. "Anyway, you left these in my tent last night, so I thought I had better return them before our next battle. Wouldn't want you getting hurt because of a lack of proper equipment. And of course, my bed is always open, if you ever want to come back." Sain said, handing Florina her armor, boots, and other articles of clothing before walking off, whistling a happy tune as Farina ran to intercept her sister. "Oh, and you can keep the shirt."

Farina gaped at her sister in amazement, "Wow, how the heck did you get a guy?"

"N-no. I-I don't have a…um…g-guy. I d-don't even know h-how he ...um... got t-them." Florina stuttered, barely keeping hold of her recently returned possessions.

"Do you remember _anything _about last night?" Farina pressed.

"Umm…no?" Florina answered uncertainly.

"Well, if he did anything to you…" Farina let the threat hang for a second, "I'm sure we can sue him for every gold piece he owns." She finished.

Florina stared at her sister for a second. "You never change, do you sister?"

"Or better yet," Farina continued, "You can milk him for money, now that you're with him and all. Actually, looking at it from that angle, I think you've made a good choice. You know what they say: a fool and his money are soon parted. And no one is more of a fool around girls than Sain."

"I'm not with him!" Florina protested.

"Let me tell you something sis: you do not want to become known as that kind of girl. Now that you're with him, you have to stay with him. Otherwise, you'll get a reputation of being disloyal, and that's a real career-killer in the mercenary world."

A/N: Well, there it is. Nightmare3 gave it his stamp of approval, but everyone else is more than welcome to leave their comments.


End file.
